One of the most frequent diseases with a fatal outcome is vascular disease, which can lead to heart attacks or strokes for example. Heart attacks are caused by disease of the coronary vessels, whereby arteriosclerotic plaque results in thrombocyte activation and thus formation of a local thrombus. This can lead to a total occlusion of coronary vessels and thus to a blockage of the blood flow. Occlusion in the case of a heart attack is nowadays in the majority of cases treated by a PCTA (Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty). To this end the narrow points of the coronary vessels are expanded using a “balloon catheter”. However, as a result of this treatment myocardial muscle tissue that is already dead (necrotic tissue) is unable to regenerate again.
Around 2001 the first experiments on regenerating tissue in the heart were performed. The first attempts were limited to the introduction of body cells, e.g. stem cells, into the coronary vessel system. This method is called angiogenesis. Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,780 A1 discloses the preparation of stem cells. For the angiogenesis a balloon catheter is introduced into the section of vessel to be treated and the blood flow in the vessel is interrupted briefly by inflating the balloon. A solution containing stem cells is introduced into the closed vessel by a lumen in the catheter under high pressure. In comparative studies an improvement in pumping performance was identified. Since a very large quantity of body cells has to be produced in bioreactors for this treatment, this kind of treatment has not become widespread. The treatment known as myogenesis has gained higher acceptance, whereby body cells are injected directly into the myocardial muscle, advantageously in the area of the infarction scar, and there form new muscle cells which increase the pumping function of the heart. Initially the cells were introduced by surgical intervention by opening the thorax. Since this very intensive intervention (heart-lung machine) is associated with many risks, the minimally invasive injection of body cells into the myocardial muscle using special catheters and needles has become widespread.
US 2009/0234220 discloses a catheter with which stem cells can be injected. A disadvantage of all current methods is that the stem cells are transported by blood circulation away from the vessel, vessel section or organ to be treated and only a few stem cells remain at the desired location for angiogenesis or myogenesis.